A true friend?
by Delorita
Summary: Right after the end of The Dark Knight, Batman and Gordon thought about their decisions again...


A true friend?  
By Del.  
Fandom: The Dark Knight  
Pairing: Batman/Jim Gordon  
Rating: PG/Preslash  
Notes: This is set right after the end of the movie. I know many people have written about this already, but I just had to have a take on of my own on it because I love those two so much. A big thanks again to my dear beta **brushed_velvet**

And I'd like to dedicated this to my dear friend **immertreu**, just because.

"Why is he running, dad?"

"Because we have to chase him."

"He didn't do anything wrong."

"Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.  
So we'll hunt him.  
Because he can take it.  
Because he's not our hero.  
He's a silent guardian.  
A watchful protector.  
A dark knight."

Jim mulled his very own words over and over in his head. He'd said them to his son, to calm  
him, to make things easier for him than they actually were. To make things right, even though  
they might go even more wrong.

Jim felt utterly hopeless.

He sat on the stairs outside his apartment, just a few hours after all those terrible,  
unbelievable things had happened.

Gordon's family abducted and almost killed if not for the heroic action of Batman to take a  
bullet.

Rachel Dawes dead.

Dead because the person he had trusted most in his unit, Ramirez, was corrupt.

Harvey Dent, in whom everybody, including Batman, had put their hopes, "the white knight  
of Gotham", turned into a mad killer by an even more mad psychopath.

Jim lit the fifth cigarette in a row. He was still shaking. His eyes and cheeks still wet from  
new tears.

Barbara and the kids had received treatment for shock but then went home.

That's where she had told him, in two sentences, that it was over. That she still loved him but  
that she couldn't face this sort of life any longer.

He did understand that.

He hated himself right now.

He had betrayed his only ally by not letting Batman in on his plan about his faked death.

He had just yelled at Batman in frustration, not trusting him, even though the only thing he  
had asked for was five minutes alone to deal with the hostage situation in the other building.

But the dark knight had helped Gordon anyway, had come to his family's rescue.

Now Gordon and his unit had to chase him and he was clueless as to how to make any of this  
right.

He couldn't sleep over this either. He was restless, worried, completely worn out.

'I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be.'

Batman suddenly wondered if he could fulfil that promise he had just given Gordon.

Gotham.

That was his only love now.

Rachel was dead.

Batman drove aimlessly through the night, hurting everywhere but not wanting to go home.

His mind was racing.

The dogs behind him were long gone, but the shadows of death, those he couldn't shake.

He was on the run now.

No ally anymore. He had told his only ally to chase him.

He couldn't shake the stunned face Gordon had made when he'd told him to send the dogs  
after him, when he'd told him that he would take responsibility for five murders.

Had become a cop killer.

Gordon.

Was he a friend?

Batman didn't know.

He remembered the many recent events. One thought was lingering in the back of his mind,  
overshadowed by the end of the day, but not completely gone.

It was yet another glance from Gordon, along with a sentence.

'That was a very brave thing you did.'

He heard himself answer, covering his eyes with one hand, so Gordon wouldn't be able to  
read him.

'Trying to catch the light?'

Gordon was definitely trying to hide a tiny smile beneath that moustache of his when he  
questioned the billionaire,

'You weren't protecting the van?'

The smart commissioner so knew he was actually protecting the van with that reckless stunt.

Once again, he thought about telling Gordon his true identity; an idea he had given serious  
consideration to for a long while now.

Batman sighed. He had stopped the Bat Pod somewhere, not caring where.

He needed time to think.

And he didn't feel like going home and listening to Alfred's lecturing just now.

His stomach hurt the most.

The armour had saved him from the bullet, but the impact had still been hard, probably giving  
him another wound for Alfred to fuss over along with the numerous dog bites and broken ribs  
from the falls he had suffered tonight.

In the middle of his thoughts, he saw someone approach.

A familiar figure in the familiar shadows.

'There he is!' Jim thought, right around the corner of his street.

Batman, crouching in the shadows.

Jim was really surprised. He hadn't expected to see him again so soon.

He was totally unsure of what to do. All he knew was that the dogs had been here already and  
were now searching through another part of town at the moment.

So he just crouched right beside the vigilante, offering him a cigarette.

Jim thought he heard a faint chuckle and a low, "No, thanks."

There was silence between them for several minutes. A comforting silence between two  
utterly alone people.

"It's not safe here." Gordon said after a while, standing up.

"I know," the Bat's voice rasped lowly. "Want to come for a ride?" Batman murmured, a  
sudden idea occurring to him.

They looked briefly at each other, there weren't much words needed between them. Jim only  
nodded his head.

It was awkward to sit behind Batman on the futuristic motorcycle. Jim didn't know where to  
put his hands, but the Bat only growled, "hold on tight".

And they drove off very fast.

It was an odd sensation. Jim held tight to the armour, Batman's cape surrounding him like a  
possessive lover.

And he felt power, the unbelievable power of speed.

That's when a brainwave hit him.

Speed.

He had met someone else today who loved speed so much… so much so to only catch a green  
light.

Or to save a person in a van.

Jim pondered this revelation.

Could it be true?

He tried to remember all the details about that accident.

The text messages before it. The warnings.

And then exactly when Berg was about to struggle with him for his weapon, exactly when a  
truck was about to hit them, which he saw from the corner of his eye, in exactly that very  
moment the fancy Lamborghini had come between them, smashed in a terrible crash.

A truly bewildered, but miraculously unhurt, Bruce Wayne looking up at him, very confused,  
pretending not to know that Reese had been in the van.

But Jim had seen it, the almost non existent nod Bruce Wayne had given the man.

The Bat Pod stopped abruptly.

Jim had been so lost in thought, he wasn't aware of his surroundings, until now. He was able  
to breathe fresh, cool air; sounds of a waterfall were pretty close.

They were in the middle of the forest that bordered the city to one side.

While driving, Batman had pondered his options.

Even though Rachel was dead, first and foremost he wanted to serve his city. That was what  
he had come back for, what he lived and almost died for during the past years.

Doing it alone was hard but manageable.

Doing it with the new commissioner as an ally, made it so much easier.

Maybe he was already spoiled by now, but he had gotten used to their teamwork of trading  
information, of helping each other out on occasion.

He thought about his words from earlier again, that Gordon and his policemen should chase  
him now, and he almost did regret it.

An idea was forming in his head when he stopped, engine still working.

Time for all or nothing.

"I want to show you something." The rasp of the Bat's voice mingled perfectly with the  
sounds of the cascading water, "hold on really tight, we'll jump."

Gordon frowned. 'Jump?'

Batman let the engine howl, started and quickly picked up speed. Just as Jim gripped the  
armour tight again and thought, 'what the hell?', they flew through the curtain of water and  
within seconds landed on a dry spot in a big cave.

"Holy cow!" Gordon was totally flustered from what had just happened. And not as wet as  
he thought he'd be.

Batman didn't move but stopped the engine finally.

The commissioner got off the bike very slowly, looking carefully around, swallowing.

"You shouldn't have done that." Gordon couldn't believe his eyes. He actually seemed to be  
in the lair of the "enemy". There were bats everywhere. On the ceiling, over the walls.  
Batman's flashlight made them visible.

"I want us to work together." Batman's voice was very low.

Gordon looked at him, the black eyes staring back at him, unflinching.

"That would be good." Gordon took a few steps on solid ground, "But how do you think that  
should work? You can be invisible sometimes, but not always. Some patrolman might see  
you…"

Batman fumbled with the clasps of his cowl, saying in a unaltered voice, "there is another  
way." Gordon looked around sharply, at the tone of the vaguely familiar – but clearly not  
Batman's - voice.

"Don't!" he almost yelled, "I don't want to know!" He held up a hand to stop the Bat from  
revealing his true identity.

Batman swallowed, admiring Gordon for the trust in him, but he was determined now. He  
wanted to show the commissioner his true self, because he saw no other way how they could  
work for the city together if he was to be hunted all the time.

Batman had to disappear. But the other man surely could stay in the city, show his face, work  
for it. If not openly then in the background.

He didn't take his cowl off though, repeating, "There is another way, Gordon, really."

Gordon considered it for a while. Batman interrupted his thoughts by saying, "I've thought it  
through. It would make sense. And I trust you to tell no one."

The commissioner still shook his head in disbelief, looking intensely at the man in front of  
him, "Can I make a guess?"

Batman nodded.

"But if I'm wrong, you won't tell me?"

"Okay." The Bat voice said. "Who am I?"

Gordon cleared his throat, "Even though it sounds very far fetched," he adjusted his glasses,  
not really sure if he wanted to be right or not, "I had an inkling, just this morning," he  
watched Batman closely as he said that, but the man didn't move, Gordon stopped,  
considered it again and then continued anyway,

"You are Bruce Wayne."

There was a moment of utter silence between them, only the water rushing steadily.

Then Batman's hands moved upwards and slowly pulled the cowl down.

Gordon had been holding his breath, without knowing. But when he saw the handsome features of the billionaire appear from beneath the mask, he let it out slowly.

Dark eyes painted with coal stared into his; stray, brown, mussed strands of hair falling onto  
the younger man's forehead.

"Fuck, I can't believe it." Gordon couldn't restrain himself from swearing about the  
revelation.

"That's, that's…damn." He turned and walked a few steps away, ruffling his hair nervously.

Bruce, unsure of the situation all of a sudden, waited in anticipation for Gordon to get his  
mind around the new information. He cursed himself for not thinking twice about this. He  
should have known it would be a real shock for the commissioner, even though he had  
already assumed it was his rich self beneath the cowl.

Gordon stopped and still shook his head, but then turning slowly, came closer.

"You are a hell of a good actor, my utmost respect." The surprise, that he had been right,  
colouring his voice along with a bit of admiration.

"I guess I shouldn't have crashed my Lamborghini." Bruce stated, relief in his voice, taking  
off his gloves.

"Well, it did save Reese's life." Gordon cleared his throat again, still totally stunned, "But it gave me some ideas."

"I see." Bruce finally got off the Bat Pod and covered it. "So, you still want to work with  
me?"

"I need to think about that for a minute. Makes everything a whole lot different, doesn't it?"

"Not for me." Batman started to walk towards the elevator that was hidden beneath a big  
rock.

"Want to come up and we can talk about it? The basement of the Manor is already rebuilt."

Somehow, Bruce felt in his guts that it was the right thing to do to trust the commissioner. He  
just knew the other man wouldn't give any of those secrets away.

None of them.

Never.

Gordon was incorruptible. But he hesitated for a moment, thinking hard, rubbing the back of  
his neck, pushing up his glasses.

After a few minutes Gordon overcame his first shock, and muttered, "Okay," following Bruce  
Wayne further into his lair.

"Make yourself at home, I'll be right back." Bruce murmured. He had to get out of the  
armour. He suddenly had the feeling his whole body was swelling like a big bruise. He  
needed to breathe.

Gordon just nodded, taking in his new, very interesting surroundings with a cop's eye. The  
room was large, but mostly empty. It looked like it had just been finished a week or so ago; it  
even smelled new.  
There was a computer in there already and several shelves with foreign looking devices on it.

One machine made him smile broadly and let him sigh with relief. It was a coffee maker.  
While he heard a shower running somewhere in a bordering room, he started to make coffee.  
He'd read in the tabloids, how much the playboy loved that stuff. Just as much as he did. IF  
the papers were right for once.

The familiar task of doing such a simple thing, calmed him surprisingly and he caught  
himself wondering, how the man between the Bat and the shallow playboy was going to be.

'He must be a hell of a smart person, living a double life like this.'

When the coffee was finished, Jim heard the shower stop and he filled two mugs, starting to  
sip on his. Of course it was highly expensive coffee, not the cheap stuff he was used to. He  
closed his eyes to savour the flavour.

After a second he opened them again and gasped.

Bruce Wayne stood a few feet away from him, hair mussed and wet, a white, worn sweat-  
shirt only barely covering up his badly bruised torso and arms; sweat pants, Gordon would  
have never expected on the man, hung low on his hips, his feet bare.

"Thanks for this." Bruce took the other mug, took a sip, sighed and gave Gordon a smile he  
had never seen before and it confused him completely. Everything did just now.

He blinked, staring.

This so wasn't the man he was used to working with. It was someone else entirely.  
Gordon felt rooted to the spot.

"You want to take your coat off and sit down?" Bruce sat in front of the computer, propelling  
the only other chair towards Jim with one foot.

Gordon fell into it, completely perplexed.

When Batman had taken his cowl off, it hadn't felt as weird as this revelation. Seeing this  
young man now in front of him, made him doubt his decision.

Was this really the same guy?

Bruce sensed the awkwardness in Gordon.

'Fuck!' He should have been more careful. But somehow he didn't want to hide anymore after  
all those disturbing events. He needed one person he didn't have to act with. Another one  
beside Alfred.

"Shouldn't…shouldn't you go to a doctor with those bruises?" Jim had found his voice again,  
pointing at a particular set of dog teeth marks near Bruce's collar bone.

"Oh that?" Bruce touched his fingers around the wound lightly then stroked his hand through  
his hair absentmindedly, "that's nothing." He'd had worse.

His mind was racing now. How could he regain the commissioner's trust?

"Listen, I… I'm sorry to confuse you." Bruce turned the computer on, not able to look at the  
older man. "I wasn't…it…I didn't plan this, you know." He suddenly felt like a little boy  
again, the one he was back when he had met Gordon for the first time.

Gordon finally took his coat off, watching Bruce Wayne's every nervous move, sipping his  
coffee. He liked this unsure version of the man, clearly some personalities mingled into one.

Bruce had drawn up one knee, resting his arm onto it when several windows opened up on  
the computer screen at once, a buzzing noise coming out of the speakers.

"Lets see what you've got there." Gordon got a grip on himself. He was the commissioner  
after all. The situation was completely new. Everything had been turned upside down tonight.

He hurt inside and he knew Batman/Bruce did too, inside and out.

But they'd worked together before perfectly. He just had to get used to the fact that he now  
knew who's face is beneath the cowl and he was positive he would. The future didn't look as  
dark now as it did a few hours before when Batman had told him to send the dogs after him.  
Even though Jim had no idea how to work with a billionaire…just yet.

It took hours and a lot more coffee, but after that, their trust in each other was back. Gordon  
now knew what a smart man there was hiding beneath the smooth surface of the playboy  
Bruce Wayne. How earnest his intentions with Gotham were, and why he had become  
Batman in the first place.

A very firm handshake and an intense look into each others eyes had signed their new  
contract. A contract for the best of Gotham, against the mob.

Batman could disappear for a while, but Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon could get  
some things done.

Together.

And secretly, too.


End file.
